the fault in our stars movie book review

Forced to spend every moment attached to an oxygen tank, simple feats like climbing a few feet of stairs take a lot out of her. It is nice to be allowed to feel something for the characters without being manipulated by a score.Īt age 16, Hazel (Shailene Woodley) has been fighting cancer for a good chunk of her life. Thanks to the screenplay by Scott Neustadter (The Spectacular Now) and the direction by Josh Boone (Stuck in Love), what is delivered winds up being a much more natural story about young love between two teenagers dealing with cancer, than I expected. It’s always in the eyes, isn’t it? Woodley doesn’t have to say a thing - her eyes are a window into her mind and her heart.Based on the bestselling book by John Green of the same name, “The Fault in Our Stars” is sure to please die-hard fans of the source material and general moviegoers alike. Unless you’re experiencing a similar situation, Hazel’s existence is impossible to know, yet Woodley’s performance displays a depth and purpose mostly unseen in the spate of big-screen young adult novel adaptations we’ve been barraged with over the past decade (Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in 'The Hunger Games' would be the other exception). In the hands of other actresses, Hazel’s attitude may seem trite but like the whole of Woodley’s performance, it feels organic and original. But Gus, who is awesome, doesn’t care, declaring his love will not die with Hazel. She’s falling in love and love, even when you’re dying, conquers all - or does it? She considers herself a grenade and fears that when her cancer kills her, her end will destroy Gus.

Gus, once a talented basketball player, may have lost a leg to cancer, but he didn’t lose his charm.Ī courtship begins and, for Hazel, so does an internal struggle. After the support group, he doesn’t just ask her out, he tells Hazel she’s beautiful. Gus can’t take his eyes off of Hazel, and he doesn’t care if she knows it. It’s here Hazel meets the confident, cocky, handsome Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort). The group’s led by Patrick: a guitar-playing, Jesus-loving, cancer survivor whose overzealous empathetic nature is grist for Hazel’s perfectly-pitched snark. Hazel’s parents encourage her to attend a cancer support group in a church basement.

The fault in our stars movie book review